


life is good (the way it should be)

by queercarlgrimes



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cuddling, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Healthy Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, No Angst, Polyamory, Recreational Drug Use, Road Trips, Underage Drinking, Weed, just a lil bit, just a lil bit!, like not even a little bit, making steve & company in their mid 20s, no byeler sorry mike gets on my nerves lmao, no canon in sight just 4 gay kids living in the moment :), not canon, overuse of the words laughing and smiling tbh, theyre all 18 & 19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22277311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queercarlgrimes/pseuds/queercarlgrimes
Summary: lucas was sat on the bed with his back to the wall, an arm around dustin and max. el had her head in max’s lap.“is binge watching billy on the street not enough for you anymore?”
Relationships: Dustin Henderson & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Dustin Henderson/Lucas Sinclair, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Lucas Sinclair, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley/Kali Prasad, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington/Kali Prasad
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	life is good (the way it should be)

**Author's Note:**

> personal sexuality hcs:  
> max- bi  
> lucas- bi  
> el- lesbian  
> dustin- queer  
> steve- bi  
> kali- pan  
> robin- lesbian
> 
> most of this was written at 3am. title is from bright by echosmith 🥰

el didn’t think it was complicated at all, personally. she just had a girlfriend. it was 2020, she was 18, who gave a fuck?

“it’s a little weird,” dustin had tried to explain as he packed the weed into the bong. el knew all the places where cops never went, so their car was completely safe. they hung out whenever lucas and max had their dates, and el never felt weird. “most people are only dating one person.”

“i am only dating one person,” el replied bluntly. 

“usually that person is also dating only one person,” dustin tried again, flicking on the lighter with an eye roll before taking a hit. “two people, one love, or something stupid.”

“that is stupid.”

-

“lets go on a double date!” max proposed one night, as though the four of them weren’t already sprawled around lucas’s room alone. “me and el and lucas and dustin!”

“is binge watching billy on the street not enough for you anymore?” lucas replied with all the snark he could muster in his tired state. he was sat on the bed with his back to the wall, an arm around dustin and max. el had her head in max’s lap. “i’m hurt.”

“we should go rollerskating,” el suggested. 

“i’m so bad at it,” dustin whined. “let’s go to the–“

“we are always at the damn arcade!” max finished his sentence easily and they all chuckled. “we gotta do something new.”

they pondered that for a bit, letting netflix play on in the background in a comfortable silence. 

none of them could truly place how it started. somewhere during high school when max and lucas had “broken up,” el had finally worked up the courage to tell max how she felt. courage was the wrong word– she could’ve done it whenever she wanted, the brunette girl insisted. but there was an opportunity. however it had been no secret that the redhead still had feelings for lucas, and lucas dealt with that. in the mean time, dustin tried to make him feel better. that being, the two boys got very very high and dustin confessed how he’d always loved lucas. he denies that he cried after lucas kissed him. 

the lines blurred during senior year, they guessed. el hadn’t minded, she knew lucas made max happy. dustin came around surprisingly quickly as well, once he’d talked to steve about it. that, and he realized how fucking cool the four of them together were. 

“do you guys wanna go see steve?” dustin suggested suddenly, a smile crossing his face. 

“dustin henderson, are you suggesting a road trip?” max had the same smile on her face, leaning forward to make eye contact across her boyfriend. 

lucas hummed, tilting his head from side to side as the thought bounced around his head. 

“if we took turns driving, i’d be in,” lucas finally announced. “and if we picked good dates. hawkins to denver... that’s at least twelve hours.”

“it’s fourteen,” max admitted with a gentle wince as she checked her phone. “but i could make it twelve. bet.”

el giggled and reached up, practically yanking her girlfriend down to plant a kiss on her freckled cheek. 

max grinned, passing the kiss to lucas’s nose. lucas kissed dustin’s forehead. a chaste kiss; a secret passed between them. 

-

“i swear to god, you’re gonna kill me,” dustin rambled as lucas climbed back onto the bed and swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “i love you.”

“shut up, i love you too,” lucas chuckled, stretching out on dustin’s bed. 

“you’re my best friend. if i ever stop being your best friend just put me down.”

they laughed, wrapping up in each other as much as they could stand to in the growing summer heat. 

“i brought my switch,” lucas offered with a smile. “you got smash?”

“i was about to ask if you brought the switch. you complete me.”

lucas sat up and reached for his bag with an exaggerated groan, fumbling for the game. 

“how do you want to split up the driving?” dustin asked conversationally. “fourteen divided by three doesn’t work well. four hours and some change each? i’ll go first.”

“we’re definitely gonna stop for a night, i don’t care what max thinks on that. i cannot function on redbulls,” lucas insisted. “i need my beauty sleep.”

“you don’t need it to be beautiful, you need it to not be cranky,” dustin waved him off. “but i agree. steve said we get four days to stay, no point rushing if you ask me.”

“took the words right out of my mouth,” lucas smiled. he finally started the game up, passing a controller to his boyfriend. 

-

the two girls were cross legged on el’s bed, passing a watermelon 4 loko between them as they tried to plan the road trip. the window was open to let in the night breeze, and max just watched as el’s hair swayed gently. she kept it shoulder length, and her pajamas consisting of soft shorts and one of hoppers old flannels had max swooning. 

“you’re the prettiest girl i’ve ever met,” max stated. 

“no you,” el looked up from her notepad with a bashful smile. 

“i’m about to start singing.”

“oh god, max–“

“and oh, myyy, dreeeeaaams, it’s never quite as it seeeeeems,” max crooned, trying hard to keep her laughs quiet and failing miserably. “‘cause you’re a dream to me, dream to meeee!”

el kissed max to shut her up, both laughing as they pulled apart. 

max reconnected their lips briefly one more time, humming happily. 

“you’re the prettiest,” el said when they pulled apart, brushing a strand of max’s hair behind her ear. “like a princess.”

-

they left on a friday morning, planning to arrive at steve’s the following afternoon. 

“promise to be safe?” joyce asked, trying not to sound too worried. 

“i’ll keep an eye on these bozo’s,” lucas promised from the passenger seat, though the sleepiness of his voice wasn’t too convincing. 

“i’ll be okay, mom,” el promised, leaning out the open window for another kiss on the cheek. “i’ll call at every rest stop.”

“if you guys run into any trouble don’t be afraid to call,” hopper reminded them gruffly, though he still smiled. “i trust you kids, mostly. not you,” he pointed at max teasingly. “the rest of you seem alright.”

“love ya too, chief,” max smiled. she had her hair up in a messy ponytail, decked out in hot pink heart shaped sunglasses and a large yellow shirt, along with electric blue shorts. somehow it all worked. “i’ll be sure to remember that every time you text me to check up on us.”

“well, we love you kids!” joyce smiled, leaning into hopper who wrapped an arm around her. “we’ll let you get on the road. drive safe!”

dustin started the car with a wicked grin. he loved his car; a deep green xterra covered in assorted stickers and dashboard figurines. all their bags were piled high in the trunk, the whole backseat already a nest of pillows and blankets and bags of chips. 

the four of them made sure to wave until the adults were out of sight. 

-

the sun was high as they pulled off the side of the two lane highway they’d found themselves on. el had spotted the sign about a mile back and insisted they take the stop. 

FRESH FRUIT! 4$ SINGLE CUP, 6$ MIXED CUP.

max got a bowl of strawberries, el got mixed, dustin stuck with pineapples, and lucas specified mixed blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. now that it was max’s turn to drive, el was enjoying her new role as car DJ. tongue tied blared through the open windows as they drove off. 

-

“of course it starts raining now that it’s my turn to drive,” lucas grumbled, and max reached an arm out to gently scratch her fingers over her boyfriends shoulders. 

dustin and el were dozing off in the back, sharing headphones since lucas had turned the radio down to focus through the rain. 

“we’re almost at the motel,” max promised gently. “just relax.”

somehow, lucas felt himself immediately start to become less tense. he snuck a glance over at her, a smile spreading across his face as he took her in. she was just as focused on the road as he was, her blue eyes watching out for anything he might miss. it was amazing how she did it: switch from being so chaotic and borderline reckless to attentive and caring. the caring was always there, but it was usually shown much more actively. this was a softness she saved for the four of them. 

“watch the road,” she teased when she caught him staring. 

“you’re incredible, you know that?” he asked casually. “really, you’re... you’re just amazing.”

“oh, stop,” she tried to dismiss, but she couldn’t hide the blush on her cheeks. “i love you.”

“i love you, too, max,” lucas took max’s hand from his shoulder, kissing the back of her hand. 

max squeezed his hand, letting herself breathe as the rain began to let up. 

“i think this is the best thing that ever happened to me,” max mused, looking from her boyfriend to the rearview mirror where she watched her girlfriend and best friend sleep. “after all my other bullshit. this is good.”

“it’s good,” lucas confirmed. “we’re the lucky ones, huh?”

“fuck yeah we are.”

-

the motel room looked like every other motel room to ever exist. two dusty blue beds, a maroon armchair, ugly yellow walls, and a green tiled bathroom. 

el busied herself carrying in as many of their bags as she could, ignoring dustin trying to help.

“let me put on our sheets,” she insisted, pushing max and dustin towards the recliner. “rest.”

“el, we’re fine,” dustin tried to protest, smiling as max put an arm around him lazily. 

“you guys drove all day, let me,” el went on. once the sheets were on she put her hands on her hips, smiling over her small victory. lucas emerged from the bathroom and flopped next to dustin on their bed. “i’m gonna go to the vending machines. do you guys want anything?”

lucas went with her to the vending machines, intending only to ward off any potential creeps. 

“in colorado you should teach me to drive,” el suggested, slotting quarters in one by one. “so i can help.”

“you helped, el,” lucas promised, grabbing the snacks as they fell. “but if you really wanna learn, then of course.”

“thank you,” the brunette grinned. lucas pulled her into a half hug, his chin resting on top of her hair. she leaned into him happily before grabbing the last of the snacks to head back to their room. 

-

they reached steve’s house at 1pm, practically falling out of the car as they walked to his front door. 

the door opened dramatically before anyone could even knock, revealing the one and only steve harrington smiling at all of them. 

“hey guys,” the older man said lamely, laughing as they threw themselves in for hugs. “jesus, you’re all so fucking tall now.”

“missed you too, king,” el joked, humming as he kissed the top of her head in his constant big-brotherly way. “is kali home?”

“kali’s asleep, she worked the night shift last night,” steve explained, picking up a few bags to bring inside. “robin’s making breakfast, though!”

“it’s definitely lunchtime but go off,” lucas muttered, sighing in relief as he put his backpack down on the couch. 

“is that the children i hear?” came said girls voice from the kitchen. “thank god i hid the valuables.”

“good to see you too,” dustin hugged robin tight. 

the four teens walked through the house, trying not to wake up kali. there was a spare room and the couch folded out, so they weren’t short on beds, but the whole place just screamed “steve, robin, and kali live here!”

“make yourselves at home, i’ll leave it to you guys to pick beds,” steve followed them through the hallway almost nervously. “bathroom is right here, a bedroom there, y’all know how it is.”

“did you just say y’all?” max asked with a laugh. “the south has got you, bro.”

“first of all, colorado is not the south,” steve insisted. “second of all, you need to get out of hawkins more. lots of people say y’all.”

“what’s there to do in colorado, anyways?” lucas inquired as he flopped down on the couch after their short tour. 

“smoke weed.”

“dustin, no,” steve tried to reprimand. 

“dustin, yes,” replied a voice from the hallway, and the kids smiled when they noticed kali leaned against the wall. 

“kali!” el squealed, jumping up to hug her big sister. “i missed you!”

“missed you too, el,” kali kissed her sisters forehead lovingly. 

robin walked in with her permanent half smile. she joined the hug with an arm around the shorter woman. 

“welcome to the land of the living. how was work last night?”

they moved to the dining room, bringing the ottoman and stools and chairs from rooms to fit around the table made for three. the adults talked about work (steve was carrying two jobs as a waiter and petsmart assistant, robin was assistant manager at a thrift store, and kali worked at a gas station) and the kids talked about school (el was a year behind the rest, but they were staying in town for her.)

they ended up playing uno and talking more, even opening a bottle of rosé.

“i know you have a plus four, el,” lucas said knowingly, smiling though el’s poker face was stone cold. “drop it on dustin.”

“i will kill you, lucas,” dustin threatened over his large handful of cards. “this isn’t even funny. this is just not fucking funny.”

“change it to green, el!” steve encouraged.

el placed a reverse card and max screamed. 

after assorted victories (dustin wouldn’t let them stop until he got one, and everyone except for him was almost positive that kali let him have it) they started retiring to bed. 

“switch off bed and couch every night?” dustin proposed, throwing his arm around lucas drunkenly. “ladies on the bed first. boys the second. me and el next day, lucas and max on the last day.”

“don’t mind if we do,” el giggled. she took max’s hand and started leading them away, robin groaning dramatically. 

“no sex! no fucking sex in my house!”

“that’s a lie,” kali smirked. 

“no child sex in my house,” steve corrected. 

“we’re all legal!” shouted max with a cackle as she slammed the door shut. 

now steve seemed actually agitated, only picking up wine glasses in resignation as he mumbled, “and no slamming doors in my house either, goddamn.”

-

the week was pretty amazing, no matter how much steve had told them there was nothing to do there. 

max and robin made them go hiking, and dustin claimed to have rolled his ankle and had lucas and steve switch off carrying him for twenty minutes. el collected rocks. 

kali showed them around the streets of denver, starting at the zoo and getting around to the best “underground” places to eat.

lucas kept his promise, and with steve’s help, they taught el the basics of driving. once she’d basically mastered neighborhoods (she only ran one stop sign) they even merged her onto the highway. el was practically glowing the entire time. 

right in the middle they had a home day, watching movies and and steve finally brought out his own weed to let them smoke. max and lucas nearly “broke up” over their tied round of just dance. dustin and kali were in stitches on the ground by that point. 

“i like it here,” el told steve as they went to the kitchen to bring more snacks. “i miss you guys.”

steve seemed more touched by this than he should’ve. “we miss you too,” he told her with a smile. “but you guys seem to be doing just fine on your own.”

there was another outburst of laughter from the living room and el turned around to check. dustin had given up on his duet with kali and had started doing the renegade dance to “umbrella” by rhianna. 

“better than just fine.”

-

by the time they were on their last night, the four of them were in practically the exact same position as they were when they decided to drive all the way out here. the only changes were that it was john mulaney on the TV, max was in the middle with dustin’s head on lucas’s lap, and steve, kali, and robin were spread out on the floor. 

“steve, when are you coming back to hawkins?” el asked casually as she ran her fingertips up and down max’s wrist lazily. 

steve huffed out. “man, i don’t know. thanksgiving, i guess. whenever jon and nancy are back in town.”

“oh yeah, they’re open, right?” lucas asked, thinking back to just before steve left with kali and robin. “weren’t y’all kind of a thing?”

“yeah, but i don’t think new york was for me,” it really sounded like steve was lying, but nobody commented. “plus i really don’t wanna go home. a henderson, sinclair, or byers thanksgiving though? count me in.”

“always, dude,” dustin promised. 

“you’re too high, steve,” kali said with a genuine smile, rolling over to kiss him gently. 

“also, dude, my parents are like, cool,” robin added. “no one’s just gonna send you back to your dad. he’ll be lucky if i even let you go over there.”

she kissed his forehead affectionately and max couldn’t help but giggle. 

“man, all our parents think we’re weird.”

“don’t forget everybody from school,” lucas chimed in. 

“and the people who see us walking down the street,” snickered dustin. 

“i still don’t know what the problem is,” el huffed. 

the adults dismissed themselves to bed after robin fell asleep on the carpet, leaving the four of them to sort out sleeping arrangements. 

“dustin’s asleep,” lucas whispered to max, running his fingers through the other boys curly hair. “i’m effectively trapped.”

“i can carry him,” el sleepily offered, making the other two giggle. 

“we could just all sleep here,” max suggested, but el shook her head.

“that’s not fair, it’s you guys’s turn,” she almost sternly pointed out. “c’mon, wake him up.”

“nah, for real,” lucas calmed her down. “i like when we’re all here. bed’s definitely big enough.”

el looked between them skeptically. “are you sure?”

in response lucas gently shook his boyfriend awake. dustin took his time but eventually sat up, groaning blearily. 

“thanks for waking me up,” his voice was deep and sleepy and not the slightest bit sarcastic. “lets get to the couch, el, we gotta be up early–“

“stay,” max corrected him. “long day tomorrow, might as well sleep in a bed.”

dustin looked only to lucas for confirmation before grinning. if his smile was cute in middle school, he was beautiful with all his teeth. 

they arranged themselves under the blankets, trying to stifle their giggles as their mess of limbs struggled to accommodate everyones sleeping position preferences. as always, lucas and max ended up in the middle, with el spooning max and dustin just holding lucas’s hand as he drooled all over his pillow. 

max had her head on lucas’s chest, starting to drift off finally at two in the morning. 

“i love you,” she told lucas quietly. “so much.”

“i love you too.”

-

goodbyes felt harder when they all knew a 14 hour drive followed, and the kids promised to call when they got home safe. the three adults had now received invitations to four different thanksgiving, christmas, and new years events. 

the car was comfortably silent after a while, dustin cruising down another empty highway with the windows cracked and tame impala playing. 

“next road trip is to california,” max stated surely. “next summer, mark your calendars.”

nobody argued. 

“i love all of you,” el announced into the quiet car. “you’re all the best.”

that just opened a floor gate of “i love you’s” between all of them, declarations of affection passing from one teen to the next until nobody could stop smiling. 

el was cackling by the end of it.

“god, we’re so weird.”

**Author's Note:**

> “a story needs conflict to be interesting” is it not enough to have whats basically a very long somewhat-crack fluff drabble about a bunch of polyamorous teenagers??
> 
> a break from peterflash bc i love these kids and the idea of these pairings as poly (aka i love henclair, lumax, and elmax equally and refuse to shut up about it)
> 
> sorry for leaving u out will byers i love u :( <3 mike wheeler... u think about all the problems u have caused :|
> 
> kudos and comments are appreciated!!!


End file.
